


Reward

by babywarg (morphaileffect)



Series: Ironstrange Bingo [21]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Philippine Mythology - Fandom, philippine myth
Genre: Comedy, Filipino, Filipino Character, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21543514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphaileffect/pseuds/babywarg
Summary: “We’re not anything, my Lord Libulan,” was the calm answer. “But I do have feelings for him.”Tony’s eyes went wide and fixed themselves on his companion.Stephen cleared his throat. “I should have mentioned that you can’t lie to them. As in…you physically can’t.”Tony cleared his throat in turn. He did not know if it was due to embarrassment or panic.[This work is a translation of a Filipino fic titled "Gantimpala."]
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: Ironstrange Bingo [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1291997
Comments: 7
Kudos: 83
Collections: IronStrange Bingo 2019





	Reward

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Gantimpala](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21543415) by [babywarg (morphaileffect)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphaileffect/pseuds/babywarg). 



> Fill for the Ironstrange Bingo square "Tie." Scroll aaaaall the way down for some important end notes 😃

The very first time Tony saw Libulan, what he whispered was:

“Shit they’re pretty.”

His companion wasn’t surprised by this. That was also the first thing he said upon first laying eyes on the Moon deity.

“In all dimensions and worlds, they’re beautiful,” Stephen explained. “They’re one of the beings that can stay in more than one reality, all at once. In any planet, any dimension, as long as there’s a moon, they’re there.”

“That’s how powerful they are?” He added in a whisper: “Are they insane, too?”

In the many times Tony has gone with Stephen on missions, he had come to learn that the more powerful a being is, the more capable it is of losing its sanity.

Take Stephen, for example. Handsome but a bit touched in the head.

“Just don’t be yourself,” Stephen instructed, “and nothing bad will happen.”

Tony felt he could do this. He wasn’t even confident that he could speak as the deity approached.

Libulan, like many of the gods of the multiverse, has no exact form or gender. That is why they can look like anything, or any one. It’s just that a lot of times, they appear as a very beautiful human, which cannot be identified as male or female or anything between or beyond.

“Stephen Strange,” the Moon deity greeted in a voice that resembled the secretive laughter of roses. “How are you, my dear?”

Stephen dropped to one knee. Tony quickly followed suit.

“I have no complaints,” Stephen answered. “Thank you for asking.”

Libulan studied Tony closely. “And this one? Your new squeeze?”

Tony blurted out, “We’re not –”

“We’re not anything, my Lord Libulan,” was the calm answer. “But I do have feelings for him.”

Tony’s eyes went wide and fixed themselves on his companion.

Stephen cleared his throat. “I should have mentioned that you can’t lie to them. As in…you physically can’t.”

Tony cleared his throat in turn. He did not know if it was due to embarrassment or panic.

The Moon deity’s smile was blindingly radiant. “So how can I help you?” they asked.

“We need your help with surveillance.” Stephen kept right on talking. “There is a ghostly entity that only shows itself by the light of the moon. It travels between dimensions, which is why we are having difficulty tracking it. If you can let us know of its activities, we may be able to trace its patterns and find out where it will appear next.”

Libulan looked at Tony and Stephen again. Afterwards, they rubbed their forefinger and thumb together: a gesture known throughout the multiverse as a sign of asking for money/a bribe.

“Here’s the thing, though…”

Tony gripped Stephen’s arm.

“Are they serious??”

Stephen only gently pried Tony’s grip off his arm, and brought his hand down.

“What may we offer in exchange?” Stephen asked Libulan.

“It’s simple. Your friend must say how he feels about you.”

Tony was about to say no. But a mere glance at Stephen’s face reminded him of how important this excursion of theirs was. If they could not get the help of the Moon deity, they might never catch the entity that Stephen is pursuing.

He was there to help. So he could not say no.

“I have admiration for him,” he carefully said at the start. “But…it’s just not admiration. Whenever he’s around…it’s like I feel lighter. Like I can do things I couldn’t do before.”

He didn’t want to have to look at Stephen. He was saying humiliating things. But words left his mouth without any difficulty at all.

“So I was surprised when he said he had…feelings…for me. Because all this time I thought, I was the only one. Now that I know, I’m no longer sure of what I really feel.”

Something held Tony’s hand. It was Stephen’s hand.

Tony couldn’t help but look at Stephen’s face and see the unusual smile there. A smile that was like none that he had ever seen.

A smile full of love.

Tony’s heart did cartwheels, and the words tumbled out of his lips.

“But the more I think of it…I don’t know for sure but…I feel more okay with that idea. It’s like everything will be set right. Now that I know.”

There were more things he wanted to say. But all words were stopped by Libulan’s soft laughter.

“Your friend sure is a blabbermouth, isn’t he?” they said to Stephen.

Stephen bowed, without releasing Tony’s hand. “He was born that way,” he answered.

The Moon deity seemed pleased with what they had heard. They waved a hand, and that hand was surrounded by light.

They approached Stephen and made him stand. Tony stood as well. Libulan pointed to the steel brace worn by Stephen over the hand that was still holding Tony’s hand.

Then it was the brace’s turn to be surrounded by light. Which disappeared in a flash.

“There,” Libulan happily reported. “As soon as I find out anything about the entity you’re looking for, it will be placed in that device of yours. You can do anything you want with the information I will give you.”

“I owe you a debt, my Lord,” Stephen said.

“You owe nothing.” The deity looked at Tony and smiled at him. “Your friend has already paid. But…can I speak with him for a moment?”

Tony and Stephen glanced at each other. Stephen nodded. Tony shrugged and went with the deity.

When they were a good distance from Stephen, Libulan whispered to Tony: “I was just playing earlier. I would still have helped you even if you didn’t tell me the truth.” Their grin was full of mischief. “But now that you know, isn’t it just fab?”

Super fab, Tony was about to answer, but Libulan suddenly threw an arm around his shoulders.

Have you tried having a deity’s arm around your shoulders? It’s hair-raising.

Stephen’s eyebrows only shot up as he watched what was going on.

“Here’s the deal, bro,” Libulan continued whispering, “Stephen may not know this, but every truth uttered before the Moon has a corresponding reward. In short, I have a gift for you.”

“What gift?” Tony asked. He’d forgotten to be courteous and use “po.” But the deity didn’t mind this anyway.

“Just trust me.” He winked at Tony. “It’s a secret.”

***

The days went by, and this “gift” faded from Tony’s mind.

He only remembered and understood what it was when once he and Stephen were far apart. Stephen was on a mission, while he was in his penthouse apartment, resting after a long day of fiddling with machines in his lab.

He glanced out his window and saw the moon. And he felt as if someone held his hand. Looked at him full of love.

Tony’s hand closed around this feeling, and he understood:

Every time he looked at the moon, he would remember he was not alone.

And at that same time, in another world, another reality, there was a sorcerer in pursuit of a deceptive entity that could only be seen by the light of the moon. Before it was time for him to meet up with it, the sorcerer glanced up at the sky, at the moon that threw light onto everything he could see.

He remembered that someone was waiting for him to return – a person who once said that finally, now that they both knew how they felt, everything would be set right.

“For all time,” the sorcerer said to the moon.

“For all time,” said his beloved, elsewhere.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Pronouns in Filipino have no gender. So I’ve used both “they” and “it” where I felt either was applicable. Also, this may mean I’ll mess up in translation. Feel free to point out any of my lapses!
> 
> 2\. “Ang lagay eh…” is so very hard (but fun!) to translate. It literally means “The thing is…” but it’s a play on words because “lagay” means both “thing/object” and “bribe.” The figurative translation is therefore “The bribe is…”
> 
> …And, er, “lagay” is also slang for male genitals in Visayan 😅 That does not in any way apply here.
> 
> 3\. I had a bit of trouble deciding what Filipino word to use for “deity”. My upbringing made me choose “anito” initially, but it didn’t really feel right? After a bit of googling, I think “diwata” may be more widely used as a general term for spirits, so I ended up using that.
> 
> “Diyos” just doesn’t work even if technically, Libulan IS a god - it’s just that “diyos” is derived from the Spanish “dios”, which I feel doesn’t quite capture the old deities’ importance to our ancestors.
> 
> 4\. I mentioned Stephen having an arm brace at some point. It’s because I imagined him wearing his skintight black armor from the recent Waid/Saiz run. He has some kickass forearm braces there. I love them. You could also imagine him wearing something else AND the braces, if it suits your fancy.
> 
> And as for Tony, I imagined him not wearing the armor. So maybe just his sexy black underarmor from the comics in this one. Or his sexy black shirt from Endgame. IDK. Anything sexy 😺
> 
> 5\. “Po” or “ho” is an expression used by many Filipinos to convey respect. There’s no direct translation.
> 
> 6\. Libulan = ancient Visayan god of the moon. There are many creation myths all over the Philippines, and some oral traditions may pin them as A god of the moon, and not THE god, while some may identify the moon deity as a woman or a genderfluid being.
> 
> In recent years, they became part of a [controversy about a fabricated love story](https://www.aswangproject.com/uncovering-the-bulan-sidapa-love-story-deception/). But even if nothing seems solid, one thing’s for sure: Libulan has fueled Filipino creativity since time immemorial.
> 
> I’m grateful to the moon deity, and to crimsonheartstuff on tumblr, for the inspiration for this piece. It was immeasurably fun to write and translate 💖


End file.
